Oscars

The deepest bench of Best Actress contenders in years is going to give us one of the best set of nominations the Oscars has ever seen Best Actress is a bloodbath, the most competitive I’ve seen this category in years. That’s a good thing but it makes predicting extra hard. This category has everything: a veteran with an overdue narrative, …

Ethan Hawke and Rami Malek rise but could Michael B. Jordan knock them out? Some big moves this month from actors in films large and small including a previously nominated indie fave and two performances from certified box office hits. Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) has been an underdog contender in Best Actor for months. For some he’s been top 5 …

From top: Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Spike Lee and Ryan Coogler could make Oscar history That might not be that unique year to year but what is unique this year is amount of black directors who top tier contenders helming a host of Best Picture hopefuls. Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (Adapted Screenplay for Best Picture winner Moonlight) is back with …

First Man (Universal)A Star Is Born (Warner Bros) First Man stays locked at #1 in Sound Editing despite faltering elsewhere this month. It feels like a category that would be impenetrable to its overall nomination potential and could even eke out a win. Black Panther keeps moving up, ROMA holds on at #2. After La La Land‘s shocking loss in …

I should have had The Favourite in the top 3 last month but I’ve rectified that now. There is something almost too simple in the garishness of the Queen Anne’s makeup in the film but I think that the branch will embrace it. Plus, it has some of the best w(h)igs of the year. I still have Disney’ The Nutcracker …

The Favourite overtakes First Man in Production Design for November and holds onto the #1 spot in Costume Design. These two categories often go hand in hand, especially when they’re elaborate period concoctions. This decade alone has seen the same film win both awards four times including The Great Gatsby and Mad Max: Fury Road. Sandy Powell is all but …

ROMA bumps First Man in Film Editing and keeps the top spot in Cinematography this month, further pushing the Netflix film on its way to Best Picture. A Star Is Born also moves up, jumping over The Favourite, while the rest of If Beale Street Could Talk stays in a holding pattern at #5. Spots 6-10 don’t budge either. Cold …

If Beale Street Could Talk and A Star Is Born remain atop the Original Score and Original Song chart for November. This month sees a move into the top 5 for Black Panther, which would be a first Oscar nomination for composer Ludwig Göransson, who previously scored Creed, Venom earlier this fall and Creed II which opens this weekend. Max Richter …

Top: Ralph Breaks the Internet (Disney)Bottom: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features), Burning (Well Go USA) Incredibles 2 holds onto the top spot in Animated Feature but the phenomenal reviews for Ralph Breaks the Internet help bump up that film to #2. The Academy hasn’t been too kind to sequels in this category, especially to Disney/Pixar but it seems like one of these two could …

Black Panther (Disney) Adapted Screenplay sees some movement in the top 10 but If Beale Street Could Talk stays put at #1 for the second month in a row as the list’s biggest Best Picture player. Moving up is Can You Ever Forgive Me? to the #2 spot. It’s hard to imagine the writers branch not going deep on a …

2020 Best Picture Predictions

1917 (Universal) December 25
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Sony/Columbia) November 22
Ford v. Ferrari (20th Century Fox) November 15
Harriet (Focus Features) November 1
The Irishman (Netflix)
Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) October 18
Just Mercy (Warner Bros.) January 17, 2020
The Laundromat (Netflix)
Little Women (Sony/Columbia) December 25
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (Sony/Columbia) July 26

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